Former AMD CEO Hector Ruiz Was A Galleon Tipper

Mr. Ruiz, who is not a defendant, did not return calls seeking comment. A lawyer for Danielle Chiesi, a defendant in the case and the person to whom Mr. Ruiz allegedly passed the information, declined to comment.

The involvement of Mr. Ruiz, 63 years old, adds the biggest name yet to the case, in which Raj Rajaratnam, co-ounder of the hedge fund firm Galleon Group, and five others including Ms. Chiesi face federal criminal and civil charges. All have said they are innocent. Galleon said Tuesday it has nearly completed liquidating its funds.

What's shocking about this case is how powerful the tipsters were. IBM (IBM) lost its top CEO candidate already.

It seems likely that this revelation could harm Ruiz at his current position:

A complaint filed in a New York federal court alleged that the AMD executive now identified as Mr. Ruiz shared confidential information with Ms. Chiesi about a 2008 reorganization of AMD. It spun off its manufacturing operations to a joint venture bankrolled by investors from Abu Dhabi. Mr. Ruiz became chairman of the new company, Globalfoundries Inc. He continues to serve in that role.